Gov. Rick Snyder Wants to Privatize Detroit Public Schools
More: Gov. Rick Snyder’s Detroit School Plan Would Create New Debt-Free DPS
Gov. Rick Snyder today announced plans for a sweeping overhaul of Detroit’s education system, including a proposal to split Detroit Public Schools in two as a way to deal with its crippling debt but at the expense of other districts across the state.
The proposal calls for each entity to be overseen by its own school board and both the old and new districts would be subject to a financial review board, similar to what was used in Detroit’s bankruptcy, until the debt is resolved.
Officials said the new DPS would have its own 7-member school board, with Snyder appointing four people and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan three. Its members would be gradually replaced by elected members in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The board would hire a superintendent.
The current elected, largely powerless school board would become part of the old district. So would DPS emergency manager Darnell Earley.
The plan aims to address persistent academic and financial distress in DPS as Detroit’s education landscape has grown increasingly fragmented over the last several years.
The old DPS would function just to pay off the district’s debt using an existing 18-mill non-homestead property tax and other revenue. The new DPS would be just that — a new school district under state law that would focus on educating children. It would collect the per-pupil funding that the state gives school districts.
The proposal also calls for creating a new Detroit Education Commission. The commission, with three members appointed by Snyder and two by Duggan, would oversee a common enrollment system, in which all schools applications — both for traditional public schools and charter schools — would be processed through a single entity.
You think “The Democrats” caused urban ruin? Wait till you see what the Republicans can fuck up.